STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Republican state Sen. Andrew Lanza and Staten Island Democrats on Tuesday defended Gov. Andrew Cuomo's handling of the Moreland Commission, saying that questions over whether the governor had hobbled the panel's work would have little impact on his re-election chances this fall.

But other borough Republicans had a different take, saying it appeared that Cuomo had interfered with the anti-corruption commission's investigations, and that voters would remember come November.

Lanza (R-Staten Island) said the commission was a creation of the governor, and that the governor "is the only one who has the authority to disband it."

Said Lanza, "It's a hard argument to make to say the governor did something wrong to get rid of it."

Lanza, who has worked across the aisle with Cuomo on toll relief and other issues, said that because the commission had no prosecutorial authority, "some criticism of the governor really falls flat."

Cuomo this week defended his handling of Moreland, and dismissed reports that his administration interfered with its work.

The panel was created last year to look at corruption, and was dismantled this spring. Cuomo said Moreland made its own decisions and that his office only offered suggestions.

"The commission took advice and opinion from many, many people," Cuomo said, adding that the commission showed its independence when it balked at his administration's suggestions.

"That's not a sign of interference," he said. "That is demonstrable proof of independence."

The New York Times reported that a top Cuomo aide, Larry Schwartz, pressured the commission to drop subpoenas to entities connected to the governor.

The allegations come in the midst of Cuomo's re-election campaign, with the governor, thought to be pondering a 2016 White House bid, seeking a big victory at the polls.

Lanza said he "didn't know how much of an issue" Moreland would be in November, saying, "This is an issue that's not in the wheelhouse of most people."

State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) said the allegations were much ado about nothing, and that Moreland was a success.

She pointed to Moreland measures that had been adopted by the Legislature, including increased penalties for bribery and the creation of a campaign finance enforcement office.

"It achieved what it set out to do," she said.

Those were two measures that Cuomo also spoke of earlier this week in defending his handling of Moreland.

She said that GOP Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, one of the panel's co-chairs, had also released a statement saying that the panel was not interfered with.

Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore) said that Moreland would not affect Cuomo in his battle against Republican Rob Astorino. Cuomo has held a big lead in the polls throughout.

"Instead of a big landslide, it will be a slightly smaller landslide," said Titone.

Titone said he believed that Cuomo and his staff "advised" the panel but "did not insist."

He said Cuomo "got as far as he was going to get in one legislative session."

Said Titone, "What else were they going to do? How much further could they have gone?"

Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island) said that Moreland was Cuomo's "creation" and that "it was up to the governor's discretion how long it would last."

He said, "People felt it was a prosecutorial committee. But it didn't have that power."

With regard to allegations that Cuomo interfered with the panel's work, Cusick said, "I'm not expert enough to say whether it has any validity."

Said Cusick, "If there was something that went wrong, I'm sure it will come out. There's a spotlight on it now."

Titone also said that Astorino was wrong to compare Cuomo to a "mafia boss" in his handling of Moreland.

According to Syracuse.com, Astorino this week said, "To suggest that he was suggesting to the commission members where they should go with an investigation is like a mafia boss coming forward and saying that he wants to make a suggestion, an offer you can't refuse. That clearly is intimidation."

"He should know better as an Italian-American," Titone said of Astorino. "It's perpetuating stereotypes. He owes an apology."

"There appears to have been some interference," Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) said of the commission. "It doesn't seem to have been totally independent. It started up and shut down awfully quickly."

With official corruption a big issue in Albany, Ms. Malliotakis said, "that kind of thing further decays public trust."

She called it a "public relations nightmare" for Cuomo that could "become a problem" on Election Day.

Assemblyman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) agreed.

"It's certainly not helping," he said. "It's something he's going to have to contend with over the next 100 days or so. Saying four different things on the same topic, people will remember that."